Pearson Edexcel Summer 2021 Update - Pearson qualifications

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Pearson Edexcel Summer 2021 Update - Pearson qualifications
Pearson Edexcel
Summer 2021 Update
Pearson Edexcel Summer 2021 Update - Pearson qualifications
Agenda
•   Key dates & deadlines
•   Our support
•   UK qualifications
•   International qualifications
•   Assessment materials

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Pearson Edexcel Summer 2021 Update - Pearson qualifications
Context
•   Students will receive grades awarded and determined by teachers
•   Pupils will only be assessed on what they have been taught
•   No algorithm will be used
•   Teachers will be able to draw on a range of evidence when determining grades,
    including:
    •    the optional use of questions provided by exam boards
    •    mock exams
    •    coursework
    •    other work completed as part of a pupil’s course, such as essays or in-class
         tests
•   Exam boards have provided guidance for teachers on their websites
•   Teachers will submit grades to exam boards by 18 June
•   Results days for GCSE, A level and some vocational qualifications will take place on
    the 10 (GCE) & 12 (GCSE) August.

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Timelines
•   26 March – UK JCQ Grade Descriptors
•   31 March – UK Additional Assessment Materials – mapping grids, mark schemes,
    sets of questions (under padlock)
•   12 April – UK Marking Exemplification (Under padlock)
•   19 April – UK Grading Exemplification. Additional sets of questions publicly available
•   19 April – All UK general support on Pearson Professional Development Academy
    (except Appeals)
•   26 April: Entry deadline for private candidates
•   30 April: Deadline for centre Quality Assurance Policy submission via proforma on
    CAP (Centre Admin Portal)
•   26 May to 18 June: Teacher Assessed Grades Submission window opens via
    awarding organisations’ respective portals
•   10 August: A/AS Levels and relevant Level 3 results
•   12 August: GCSE and relevant Level 2 results.

Key dates available on our website.

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JCQ Guidance
JCQ Guidance on Determining Grades
•   On Friday 26 March the JCQ Guidance on Determining Grades was released.
•   This is the main guide that UK centres will need to follow as they arrive at grades for
    learners this summer.
•   Make sure you have downloaded the following from the JCQ website
    •    Editable Centre Policy
    •    Assessment Record Sheet
    •    Head of Department Checklist
    •    Grade Descriptors

•   We have shared the link on our website and provided a ‘Top 10 Important Things to
    Note’ interactive pdf.
•   The following slides summarise some of the key details.

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Quality Assurance Process

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Quality Assurance Process
•   The Quality Assurance process will support centres to construct appropriate
    processes to underpin. the determination of grades. There are internal and external
    elements to the process

•   Internal Quality Assurance – Centre Policy
     •   Every centre must produce a Centre Policy; this can be done by choosing to adopt the pre-populated
         template.
     •   Only one policy needs to be produced and submitted via the CAP which can be found on Edexcel Online.
     •   The policy must provide a summary of a centre’s approach to assessment and quality assuring the centre
         determined grades they award to students, based on the evidence they have produced.
     •   For every centre, the Head of Centre is required to complete the Summary of Centre Policy form and to
         upload the Centre Policy as an attachment prior to submission.
     •   Submission of the Centre Policy must be completed by April 30th 2021.

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Guidance On Grading
•   Heads of Centre should ensure that students have the opportunity to show the full
    breadth of their knowledge and understanding in each subject based on what they have
    been taught.
•   It is important that grades represent a holistic, objective judgement based on evidence
    of each student’s performance in each subject.
•   Evidence should be used consistently across the class or cohort wherever possible.
•   The evidence can be of different types and can come from across the course of study.
•   Please make sure your teachers have seen and used the subject specific support
    guides on our website and have accessed the Pearson Professional Development
    Academy training resources.

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Arriving at a grade
1.   Consider what has been taught
2.   Collect the evidence
3.   Evaluate the quality of the evidence
4.   Establish whether the proposed range of evidence is suitable
     for all students
5.   Assign a grade

The window for Teacher Assessed Grades submission opens via
the Pearson portal 26 th May – 18th June

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Grade descriptors
Grade descriptors have been created for GCSE, AS and A level subjects. They describe
midgrade performance.
• A level: grade descriptors exist for Grades A, C and E. Characteristics of performance at the Grade
   A/Grade B borderline are included.

• AS level: grade descriptors exist for Grades A, C and E only.
• GCSE: grade descriptors have been created at Grades 8, 6, 5, 4 and 2.
• The Ofqual descriptors for 8, 5 and 2 have been used as the starting point. Characteristics of
   performance at the Grade 4/Grade 3 borderline are included

Each awarding organisation has created grading exemplification for each specification.
This were made available by each awarding organisation on April 19th. The grading
exemplification uses student responses from historical examination scripts (and other
sources) to illustrate midgrade performance in previous summer series in which exams
took place. The exemplification gives examples of the standards you will use to make
grade judgements.

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Use of data
 Use of Data

One source of data which is available to centres is tracking systems, that provide target
grades or predicted grades based on assessment inputs and data modelling. As the policy
direction is that the final grade is derived solely based on performances produced by
students, a grade derived based on a predicted trajectory or target grade is not permitted.

Used appropriately, data on historical student and centre performance can help support the
internal quality assurance process for assigning grades. The purpose of reviewing data on
past performance is not to attempt to determine a student or a centre’s outcomes this
summer, but as one source of evidence from examination series which operated as normal,
that can inform teachers’ professional judgement on the level of attainment achieved by their
students.

Centres should be aware of the distribution of grades awarded to students in previous June
series. However, grading judgements should not be driven by this data. Historical grade data
should only be considered after grading judgements have been made.

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Additional Assessment Materials
•   Awarding organisations’ existing assessment materials (including past papers and
    examiners’ reports) will all be available as normal. In addition, the following
    materials have been made available to centres:

•   31st March, additional assessment materials including sets of questions, mark
    schemes and mapping grids; and

•   12th April, additional support materials including exemplar responses and links to
    other information which will help with using and marking these assessment
    materials.

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Additional Assessment Materials
• The 2021 assessment materials are qualification-specific sets of questions covering key
   knowledge, understanding and skills

• The materials are available for all GCSE, AS and A levels, with the exception of Art and
   Design.

• They are drawn from a variety of examination questions and from a range of papers; they do
   not cover any NEA components.

• The number, breadth and depth of the material will vary between subjects, and reflect the
   characteristics of each qualification (e.g. where there is only one exam component there will
   be fewer materials than for a subject which is usually assessed entirely by
   examination). However, the assessments will draw on the equivalent of three series’ worth
   of examination material, as a minimum.

• Support materials may also include:
     •   past examiners reports;
     •   marked examples of student work from past papers where they exist and support the
         marking of student work;
     •   links to other information which will help with using and marking these assessment
         materials.

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Reasonable adjustments
•   Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCOs), SEND leaders and assessors
    have previously been advised to continue to process online applications as if
    examinations were taking place this summer. This will formalise the arrangements for
    the student’s assessments and will ensure consistency with the Equality Act 2010.

•   The awarding organisations will continue to provide their usual support to centres with
    advice and guidance on how to modify the additional assessment material resources
    for use in classroom assessments. Awarding organisations recognise that the
    additional assessment materials are being provided in a different way to past
    examination material and that these may present an issue for some teachers with
    visual impairments. In these cases, centres should contact the awarding organisations
    who will aim to provide extra support and guidance.

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Appeals
•   The arrangements for awarding grades to students in summer 2021 include internal and external quality
    assurance measures which aim to ensure that on results day student are issued with fair and consistent
    grades that have been objectively reached.

•   Sharing information with students about the evidence being used as part of a centre’s grade determination
    process is important and should help to avoid issues that may otherwise arise when results are issued.

•   Students will be able to appeal their grade.

•   A student who is unhappy with their grade will first ask their centre to check whether an administrative or
    procedural error had been made.

•   Where a centre does identify an error in the grade submitted to the exam board, it can submit a revised grade
    and a rationale for the board to consider. If the exam board is satisfied with the rationale, it will issue a revised
    grade.

•   Where a centre does not believe an error had been made, a student can ask the centre to appeal to the exam
    board on their behalf. The centre will submit the student’s appeal to the exam board and provide the evidence
    on which its judgement had been made; the exam board will consider whether, in its view, the grade reflected
    an appropriate exercise of academic judgement.

•   If the exam board judges that it did not, the exam board will determine the grade that the evidence would
    support. The exam board will also check that the centre had followed its own process.

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Communications and our support
Information and support
•   Our support, guidance and training sessions are available via the Pearson Professional Development
    Academy for Grading, Additional Assessment Materials, Appeals, Quality Assurance and Unconscious Bias.

•   There are downloadable guides, videos and pre-recorded and live events.

•   This support will be available from 31 March and will be expanded upon over the coming weeks and
    released in full for UK Qualifications by 19 April and for International Qualifications by the 4 May

•   Sign up to be the first to know when the training becomes available.

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Information and support
•   Our full subject support guides can be found on our Summer
    2021 support page

•   There is also some helpful information available on the Ofqual
    website.

•   Sign up to receive regular qualification updates through our
    Pearson Qualifications Bulletin.

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Mock service for summer 2021
Key dates and deadlines
•   A number of teachers have been in contact, to ask
    about using the Mocks Service to support teacher
    assessed grades for GCSE. We have created a
    timeline with key dates and deadlines if you
    are considering using the Mocks Service to support
    your teacher assessed grades.

•   Download key dates and deadlines for summer
    2021 mocks.

•   We’ve also created a short guide to using the Mocks
    Service to inform the teacher assessed grades.

•   Download your Guide to using the Mocks Service
    summer 2021.

•   Booking window and mock exam papers list.

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Supporting students, parents and carers
•   Take a look at our students, parents and carers web page. On here you'll find:

     •   a video and a letter from Hayley White, our Assessment Director, explaining how
         students' grades will be determined this summer and the support we're providing
         to schools and colleges.

     •   a link to a student timeline for summer 2021

     •   a feedback form, so students, parents and carers can get in touch should they
         need further help and support

     •   a link to the Ofqual infographic that explains in a visual way how grades will be
         awarded this summer.

•   Plus, do encourage sign up to our Parents & Carers newsletter for the latest
    information and support.

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Summer 2021 subject specific
information
You can also read